Contributions to SSFR rise 18%

•  RSSFR building at Kacyiru. (File photo)

• By Saul Butera

More Rwandans are saving money through pension schemes thanks to the Social Security Fund of Rwanda’s (SSFR) enforcement, sensitisation of the public and audits.

Contributions to the SSFR rose by 18 percent from Rwf11.3 bn in the last six months of 2008 to Rwf13.4bn in the same period last year, the public pension body said in its latest report.

SSFR said it exceeded its target by 102.3 percent. “Considering the trend of contribution collections in the first half of the year and the above-mentioned strategies to improve collections, the projected annual collections amounting to Rwf26bn will be realised,” the report states.

This is the first semester report by SSFR since it adopted the EAC financial year that runs from July to June of the following year.

The report also indicates that in the period under review payment of benefits rose to Rwf3.1bn from Rwf2.4bn while SSFR’s portfolio accounts for Rwf146.1bn with investment returns of Rwf3.2bn.

The performance was driven by the body’s equity investment in SYCO Ltd and Gaculiro property developers ltd.

The pension body says that its investment returns could have been higher Rwf3.2bn but there was a shortfall due to the retention of dividends by some companies like Bank of Kigali (BK).

SSFR holds shares in 17 companies of which two are foreign with a shareholding value of Rwf33.7bn. 

Owing to the efforts put in sensitization and registration, the Fund’s membership has grown tremendously.

The report says that SSFR registered 1,965 new employers and 29,454 new employees in the second half of 2009, an increase of 97.1 percent compared to the same period in 2008.

Despite the positive strides taken in increasing membership, member compliance is still a big challenge to the pension body. 

The report indicates that the compliance level in the first semester 2009/2010 was 57 percent.

It states that areas including compliance of employers, enforcement, employer inspection, bank reconciliation and investment need special attention because they did not perform well throughout the reporting period.